# Good television?



## Pook

I like watching TV. However, my shows are limited to about 5 programs (Seinfeld, The Office (US), Becker, Cheers, and Everybody Loves Raymond) are there any programs recommended for me, or other people?


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## Vipera Magnifica

How I Met Your Mother
Two and a Half Men
Frasier
30 Rock


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## opaltiger

Mad Men
Deadwood
Battlestar Galactica
True Blood
Twin Peaks
Carnivale

should keep you busy


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## Green

the simpsons
futurama
family guy
the cleveland show
american dad


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## Murkrow

LOST - if you like that kind of stuff
Arrested Development - one of the best sitcoms I've seen


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## Tarvos

House.


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## Saith

House > Supernatural > Lost > Everything Else.


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## benwayshouse

i can vouch for twin peaks, too.

one of my friends told me he only watched three TV shows: the big bang theory, skins, and some other show that wasn't actually very good. i've never seen either, but skins seems right up my alley. maybe you might enjoy them?


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## Diz

Warehouse 13
Tosh.0
Futurama
Family Guy
House
Glee
Saturday Night Live
Friends

But srsly, Warehouse 13 gogogogo


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## Dannichu

(I am sorry, but I am _such_ a TV snob D:)

By 'Good Television' I assume you actually mean 'good' and not 'enjoyable'. Because by absolutely no strech of the human imagination could some of the suggestions so far (Family Guy, Two and a Half Men, Friends, How I Met Your Mother) be counted as _good_ television. Sorry, guys :/

I second opal's suggestion of Battlestar Galactica, and strongly recommend The West Wing, or really anything by Aaron Sorkin. 
The UK version of The Office is, IMO, massively superior to the US one, but many people (mostly from the US) disagree with me.
I have to plug the recent BBC adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (creatively titled 'Sherlock'), which is absolutely excellent (it made my icon!), but, if you're a USian, rather hard to come by, since it's only available on the UK-only BBC iPlayer at the moment (if you're in the UK, go and watch it _now_).
I don't know how UK-only Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes are, but they're excellent, too.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a very good television show cunningly disguised as a very bad one. Joss Whedon's other shows, Angel, and especially Firefly, are well worth a go, too. 
I've only seen the first part of The Wire, but it's absolutely fantastic stuff.

I count good television as that which I can't veg out in front of - you have to pay attention, it's original, it doesn't patronize you and it forces you to _think_.

TV which provides a great distraction and is enjoyable enough include House, 24, anything by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls), Doctor Who and Torchwood, 30 Rock, Northern Exposure and series 1 of Heroes.


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## Blastoise Fortooate

Umm, since no one has briught it up may I suggest _Avatar: the Last Airbender?_ That is a good show. 

+++to House btw


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## opaltiger

> I have to plug the recent BBC adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (creatively titled 'Sherlock'), which is absolutely excellent (it made my icon!), but, if you're a USian, rather hard to come by, since it's only available on the UK-only BBC iPlayer at the moment (if you're in the UK, go and watch it now).


I managed just fine! :D

edit: as for Life on Mars, it's another "let's make an american remake" show, except this one was handled even more catastrophically than usual.


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## Vipera Magnifica

Dannichu said:


> (I am sorry, but I am _such_ a TV snob D:)
> 
> By 'Good Television' I assume you actually mean 'good' and not 'enjoyable'. Because by absolutely no strech of the human imagination could some of the suggestions so far (Family Guy, Two and a Half Men, Friends, How I Met Your Mother) be counted as _good_ television. Sorry, guys :/


If you read his first post, he _is_ talking about 'enjoyable' television. 

The only shows he watches right now are sitcoms. So Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother are definitely valid suggestions.


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## Chopsuey

Uh... lezze...

Lost

Mythbusters

It's Effin' Science!

The Simpsons

...and Ninja Warrior is good, too.


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## ProgMetal_64

Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Hot in Cleveland (don't judge me...)
Ace of Cakes

And if you're in to this kind of thing:
Deadliest Warrior
Future Weapons


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## Chopsuey

ProgMetal_64 said:
			
		

> Deadliest Warrior


Forgot about that. >_> It's awesome.

Also, The Colony.


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## Teh Ebil Snorlax

House
Glee
Criminal Minds
Law and Order
The Mentalist
Frasier
30 Rock
Scrubs
QI


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## Green

anything where they blow shit up. that's always beautiful.


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## Murkrow

ProgMetal_64 said:


> Big Bang Theory


If you watch this expect a decline in quality after the first season where any joke that isn't about Sheldon is either about how they can't get girls or how the character in question is Indian/Jewish/Blonde.

Seriously it went from funny to slightly insulting.


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## Vipera Magnifica

KronoGreen said:


> anything where they blow shit up. that's always beautiful.


Is Brainiac still airing? I don't really know because I can't seem to find that show anywhere in the US.


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## Green

Zangviper said:


> Is Brainiac still airing? I don't really know because I can't seem to find that show anywhere in the US.


i think it is... in lebanon. :v


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## Kratos Aurion

Teh Ebil Snorlax said:


> Criminal Minds


This fuck yes.

If you get A&E, you might want to try The Glades as well since it currently comes on right after Criminal Minds on Sundays. The storylines are kind of meh so it's not "good television" the way I'd consider Criminal Minds good television, but you do seem to like "enjoyable" and the characters in The Glades are pretty awesome.

...honestly, I don't watch a wide variety shows either; anything that's not the above, MythBusters, The Colony, the occasional Deadliest Warrior or a few other occasional Discovery Channel shows is something nerdy on History Channel or whatever. :P


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## Zuu

House, White Collar seems pretty good though it's only recently gotten into a second season, and Psych can be downright hilarious.


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## Teh Ebil Snorlax

Kratos Aurion said:


> This fuck yes.
> 
> If you get A&E, you might want to try The Glades as well since it currently comes on right after Criminal Minds on Sundays. The storylines are kind of meh so it's not "good television" the way I'd consider Criminal Minds good television, but you do seem to like "enjoyable" and the characters in The Glades are pretty awesome.
> 
> ...honestly, I don't watch a wide variety shows either; anything that's not the above, MythBusters, The Colony, the occasional Deadliest Warrior or a few other occasional Discovery Channel shows is something nerdy on History Channel or whatever. :P


I watch it on the Irish terrestrial channel, RTÉ Two.


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## Not Meowth

Dannichu said:


> (I am sorry, but I am _such_ a TV snob D:)
> 
> By 'Good Television' I assume you actually mean 'good' and not 'enjoyable'. Because by absolutely no strech of the human imagination could some of the suggestions so far (Family Guy, Two and a Half Men, Friends, How I Met Your Mother) be counted as _good_ television. Sorry, guys :/
> 
> I second opal's suggestion of Battlestar Galactica, and strongly recommend The West Wing, or really anything by Aaron Sorkin.
> The UK version of The Office is, IMO, massively superior to the US one, but many people (mostly from the US) disagree with me.
> I have to plug the recent BBC adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (creatively titled 'Sherlock'), which is absolutely excellent (it made my icon!), but, if you're a USian, rather hard to come by, since it's only available on the UK-only BBC iPlayer at the moment (if you're in the UK, go and watch it _now_).
> I don't know how UK-only Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes are, but they're excellent, too.
> Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a very good television show cunningly disguised as a very bad one. Joss Whedon's other shows, Angel, and especially Firefly, are well worth a go, too.
> I've only seen the first part of The Wire, but it's absolutely fantastic stuff.
> 
> I count good television as that which I can't veg out in front of - you have to pay attention, it's original, it doesn't patronize you and it forces you to _think_.
> 
> TV which provides a great distraction and is enjoyable enough include House, 24, anything by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls), Doctor Who and Torchwood, 30 Rock, Northern Exposure and series 1 of Heroes.


No mention of QI? Who are you and what have you done with Dannichu :'c



Zangviper said:


> Is Brainiac still airing? I don't really know because I can't seem to find that show anywhere in the US.


Brainiac was good when Richard Hammond did it. When Vic Reeves took over it went kinda meh imo :l But I don't have Sky any more so I've no idea what it's up to these days.
And frankly Mythbusters is better than even Hammond-era Brainiac.


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## Murkrow

Mike the Foxhog said:


> Brainiac was good when Richard Hammond did it. When Vic Reeves took over it went kinda meh imo :l But I don't have Sky any more so I've no idea what it's up to these days.
> And frankly Mythbusters is better than even Hammond-era Brainiac.


Brainiac started getting worse a while before Richard Hammond left. It went from doing stuff to prove questions they had to blowing up caravans for no reason other than for fun. To keep the science in they just said what chemical they were using as a sidenote.

I don't have Sky but I have Virgin (wish I didn't though, the box is the buggiest thing I've ever used) and as far as I can tell, they've stopped making Brainiac.


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## octobr

MISADVENTURES OF FLAPJACK
CHOWDER
ADVENTURE TIME
Phineas and Ferb.


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## Flareth

You could watch reruns of Whose Line is it Anyway on ABC Family in the U.S. It comes on late on weekday nights. But I'm sure Whose Line is rerunning somewhere in the UK. Can anyone prove that?


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## Murkrow

Flareth said:


> You could watch reruns of Whose Line is it Anyway on ABC Family in the U.S. It comes on late on weekday nights. But I'm sure Whose Line is rerunning somewhere in the UK. Can anyone prove that?


It's on all the time in the UK, not sure if it's the UK or US version that's on most since I don't watch it that much but it's there on Dave. I don't watch it much because they always seem to show the same ones every other day.


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## Pook

Wow, excellent turn out of replies. Thank you all, I'll be sure to check some of these television programs out.


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## wolftamer9

all of whose line (us) is on youtube, I know that.

people failed to mention:
Community (new-ish)
Fringe
Bones
The Drew Carey Show
The Good Guys (new)
Invader Zim, if you're one of those types of people
Corner Gas
Malcolm in the Middle


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## Flareth

wolftamer9 said:


> all of whose line (us) is on youtube, I know that.
> 
> people failed to mention:
> Community (new-ish)
> Fringe
> Bones
> *The Drew Carey Show*
> The Good Guys (new)
> Invader Zim, if you're one of those types of people
> Corner Gas
> Malcolm in the Middle


:DDDDDD

I would've mentioned it but it's not on anymore and barely any episodes are on Youtube anymore. And only the first season is out on DVD. Okay, a "Best of" type set was made but it's out of print. -is a nerd-

Invader Zim's still on reruns on Nicktoons, I think, so that works. I've watched a few reruns recently and still like it, so.

So yeah. My two-cents: Watch Zim


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## Professor Wesker

Zuu said:


> House, White Collar seems pretty good though it's only recently gotten into a second season, and Psych can be downright hilarious.


YES, those shows rock, ESPECIALLY Psych. James Roday and Dule Hill FTW.


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## Mai

Yes. Zim is great. Watch it. And tell me where to get screenshots?  I second Avatar: The Last Airbender too.


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## Chief Zackrai

House is good, as is Psych and L&O: SVU sometimes. 
Invader Zim is the best cartoon ever, just saying.


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## Dannichu

Mike the Foxhog said:


> No mention of QI? Who are you and what have you done with Dannichu :'c


Okay, okay. I thought we were talking _scripted_ TV. QI is definitely one of the greatest things to ever grace our unworthy television sets. <333



wolftamer9 said:


> all of whose line (us) is on youtube, I know that.
> 
> people failed to mention:
> Community (new-ish)
> Fringe
> Bones
> The Drew Carey Show
> The Good Guys (new)
> Invader Zim, if you're one of those types of people
> Corner Gas
> Malcolm in the Middle


Oooh I haven't seen much of Community, but I like it. It's like Glee, with less singing (whether this is a good or bad thing is debatable), but it actually gives its minority characters plots and personalities.

Also giving a *_totally unexpected_* recommendation for the recent BBC miniseries, Sherlock. Best TV I've seen in a very long time. It's on DVD in the UK at the moment and I cannot recommend it enough (the audiocommentaires are fantastic), and I think it's airing in the US (probably on BBC America?) sometime in October. Watch it, you will not possibly be disappointed.


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## shy ♡

Dannichu, I love your taste in TV. :v

I'm secconding Sherlock. And QI. And... hrr... watch Doctor Who. Just because. Oh, and The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.


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## Flazeah

I'd definitely agree with the recommendations for Frasier. If you have Comedy Central and its variations, it's shown frequently on those. Also, this is a film, but United 93 is showing today on ITV, if you have access to that. It's extremely sad, of course, but moving. Dunno whether you've seen it before, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. If you don't have access to ITV, I'd recommend finding it online; it's worth watching.


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## Phantom

Doctor Who


nuff said, shows on BBCA at 4 on weekdays, not sure about the UK.


Also, House, as mentioned multiple times..

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bones


Another show on BBC, Being Human is quite good.


Now to promote the SyFy channel
Stargate (SG-1 would be the best to start with, but you could start with Universe, but I've heard baaad things about Universe)
Ghost Hunters (Whaaat?)
Destination Truth (Gates is really funny.)



but Doctor Who is amazing you should give it a shot. :D


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## Tailsy

ANIMALS COPS FOR LIEFE

even tohugh there as hat tcat who got burned and stuff that one time :(( but I-

ok it's shit whateverr

burn notice is good. there. WATCH BURN NOTICE


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## Blaziking the God General

Jessie said:


> burn notice is good. there. WATCH BURN NOTICE


so so true.

Anyways, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is surprisingly decent and addicting and funny in a "holy shit this so corny why am I still watching it" sort of way. It's also got vampires that usually look pretty damn ugly, which is unusual these days. Oh, and the main character is pretty hot, if you're into that.


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## opaltiger

> Stargate (SG-1 would be the best to start with, but you could start with Universe, but I've heard baaad things about Universe)


That is total bullshit. Universe is the best Stargate series so far. SG-1 and Atlantis don't even come close. People are just too used to the formulaic nature of the first two shows to appreciate it properly. Case in point: the aliens don't speak English.


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## Phantom

opaltiger said:


> That is total bullshit. Universe is the best Stargate series so far. SG-1 and Atlantis don't even come close. People are just too used to the formulaic nature of the first two shows to appreciate it properly. Case in point: the aliens don't speak English.



Like I said, I haven't seen much of it, but I've heard it's bad... Well I saw the first like three or four episodes, and it was good, I just never got to finish the season.Though I loved SG-1, and I hated Atlantis. (I be weird)


I now might be inspired to hunt down a few episodes.....


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## Harlequin

opaltiger said:


> That is total bullshit. Universe is the best Stargate series so far. SG-1 and Atlantis don't even come close. People are just too used to the formulaic nature of the first two shows to appreciate it properly. Case in point: the aliens don't speak English.


THREAD DERAILMENT

Did Universe really get that much better? I haven't watched past Time so I don't actually know, but if it _has_ then holy shit I need to torrent it fast. I mean, I absolutely loved SGA (mostly for the <333333 that was John and Rodney IT'S CANON, SCREW YOU, KELLER) but a departure from that that's still good would be amazing.

Also, aliens not speaking Engish makes me feel happy inside. NEEDS MOAR, GUYS.

On a scale of 1 to Battlestar Galactica, where's Universe?

/THREAD DERAILMENT

Watch BSG. And Buffy. :D OH and watch Ugly Betty, it's awesome.


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## opaltiger

Harlequin: well that's hardly fair. A 6? If I'm being generous.


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## Harlequin

Well, on a scale of 1 - Battlestar Galactica a six is a very respectable score. I might have to torrent Universe before I move into halls. :D Universe started off kind of slowly, and then it was slightly "MEH" but then I enjoyed it and if it gets _better_ then that's good.

I mean. It did take me almost a season to properly get into BSG, so...


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## Murkrow

opaltiger said:


> That is total bullshit. Universe is the best Stargate series so far. SG-1 and Atlantis don't even come close. People are just too used to the formulaic nature of the first two shows to appreciate it properly. Case in point: the aliens don't speak English.


I hated SGU. I didn't watch all the way to the end of the season  so if you think the last couple of episodes were what made it so much better then I'll go to watch them and you can disregard my post.

It wasn't so much as the fact that it was different and had more drama than the other series that made me dislike it, but more due to the fact that it was drama revolving around characters I cared nothing about. The beginning of the season seemed to me like it was trying too hard to be good, and seemed like BSG with some of the things that made Star Trek Voyager mediocre thrown in. It got better later on and started to develop its own identity, but at that point it seemed to focus on the characters, which wouldn't be a bad thing if I cared for them at all. All it did was turn me off the series so much that I was bored even during episodes I think I would have liked otherwise.

Now I admit that the "Stargate" formula from the other two shows are what made me enjoy them so much, at least the earlier episodes anyway. I don't think it's the lack of this that let me down with Universe. I was looking forward to Universe when I found out it was going to be different from the previous series. In fact there were quite a few episodes I liked, but I just disliked the overall feel of the series, not the (lack of the same) formula that it followed.

I agree with the aliens not speaking English thing but things being more realistic like that doesn't necessarily make things better. Well, at least, being more unrealistic doesn't make things worse when it comes to aspects like that. There are some rare occasions when I prefer aliens to speak English/look identical to humans even if no explanation is given.

It could be put down to me just disliking most series that seem dark and gloomy and certain kinds of drama but at least I have reasons for thinking SGU isn't as good as the other two. I've seen quite a few haters that don't seem to have any reasons.


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## benwayshouse

i've been watching skins, and i really enjoy it a lot.

i've also been watching an anime called panty & stocking with garterbelt that's really nifty. very refreshing.


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## Glaciachan

This show has been off air for quite a bit, and DVD releases are somewhat sporadic (I use youtube for the eps not on DVD yet), not to mention only released in North America but I would highly recommend Mystery Science Theater 3000. The show is basically about a person and two robots making fun of bad movies, and trust me, it's better than it sounds. Some of the jokes are fairy intelligent/esoteric, and with over 700 riffs an episode, some are more than likely to make you laugh. Not to mention, there are about 200-something episodes. I'd mostly recommend stuff from season 3(1991-92) and on. Especially Space Mutiny.

(Okay, I think I've rambled on too long. >:Dc)


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## MentheLapin

Pushing Daisies. It finished about a year or two ago, but it's well worth tracking down the DVDs. It's one of my favourite TV shows of all time.

And then there's Ugly Betty. It finishes tonight in the UK [for good] but it's also absolutely hilarious and brilliant.

Oh, and it's been suggested, but Glee. It's pretty cool :3


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